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Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Speaks at Dominican Heritage Reception

August 8, 2014

First Lady Chirlane McCray: Hola! Bienvenido a Gracie Mansion. Esta es la casa del pueblo. Esta es su casa. Y siempre son bienvenidos aqui.

It is so wonderful to see so many of you this evening. Perfect day, right? Perfect in every way. This is a wonderful start of a grand weekend for the Dominican community of New York City. And I am a lucky person. I’m lucky that I’ve actually travelled to the Dominican Republic. It is such a beautiful island. Now, I was only there for a couple of days, so I only had a tiny taste of all of its treasures. A little sofrito, a little merengue. But I’m really hungry for more.

So let me tell you – one of the ways I got to know a little bit more about the Dominican Republic is through the writing of Junot Diaz.

[Applause]

Right? You know Junot, right? Brilliant writer. And I’m a writer myself, so I really admire the ferocity of everything that he does. He’s a Nobel Prize winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wilde and This is How You Lose Her. And I know there are at least a thousand-and-one interpretations of what it means to be Dominicano, but it’s important to tell all those stories. It’s important to tell those stories in Spanish and English, right? That’s what I appreciate about Junot’s work – his use of both languages to get the full flavor of everything.

And I love learning how the history of the island has shaped the lives of people from Santo Domingo to Washington Heights.

[Applause]

Washington Heights is in the house. Now I say all this because it’s important to know why we’re here, which is to build a better future. And to build a better future, you must know your past. Or as Junot Diaz said, ‘The only way out is in’. I know all of you understand that, and that’s why you’re here tonight. This gathering is an opportunity to celebrate all that New York’s Dominican community has accomplished over the decades, and all that you will accomplish over the years. And now, it is my pleasure to introduce a man all of you must know – Dr. Rafael Lantigua.

[Applause]

Now Dr. Lantigua’s medical credentials alone are enough to make him a great New Yorker.  He is a medical director of the associates in internal medicine practicing at Columbia University Medical Center. He is the author of more than 60 medical articles. He has led a number of important research projects on issues affecting minority populations. But that’s not the half of it. Dr. Lantigua is also the cofounder of two organizations: Alianza Dominicana –

[Applause]

Alianza Dominicana is in the house. And the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights. We are very proud to have him on the mayoral transition team. And I am so proud to welcome Dr. Rafael Lantigua to the stage.

[Dr. Rafael Lantigua delivers remarks]

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Buenas noches a todos. Bienvenidos a la casa del pueblo.  I want to talk about my friend Rafael Lantigua, but first I have a statement to make – la primera dama de la Ciudad de Nueva York que linda, que inteligente, que fuerte.

 

[Applause]

She’s a woman who has it all. Now Dr. Lantigua was very kind in what he said. But there’s no way I can put into words what Rafael Lantigua has done for this community. Because from the very beginning, from the first stirrings of the strength of this community in this city, as the people of New York City first got to understand that we had a growing, vibrant, strong Dominican community, one of the very first leaders to bring people together was Rafael Lantigua.

[Applause]

And maybe you’ve had the same experience I have. Whenever there was a good cause that needed leadership, whenever the community needed a voice, whenever someone needed healthcare – maybe they couldn’t pay for it but they still needed it – it was easy, you pick up the phone to Rafael Lantigua and he did something for people every single time.

[Applause]

Now, you know it’s a statement about this community that so many leaders are here tonight to celebrate the Dominican community, and I want to name them and you can clap the whole way through. I know our Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is here tonight. The Chair of the Taxi and Limousine Commission Meera Joshi is here. Our Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is here. Our United States Representative Charles Rangel is here. State Senator Adriano Espaillat is here. Assembly Member Luis Sepulveda is here, Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh is here, Council Member Julissa Ferreras is here, Council Member Rafael Espinal is here, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez is here. And just to make sure all of Hispaniola was represented, Council Member Mathieu Eugene is here as well.

[Applause]

We’re all here to celebrate this community, and we’ve gathered in huge numbers in this place to make a statement about the love we all feel about the Dominican community. Now this gathering would not be possible if we didn’t have a sponsor who put a lot of time and energy into making it happen, and that is Fernando Mateo, we want to thank him for his extraordinary work. I left out an elected official, let’s roll back the tape, Assembly Member Victor Pichardo, my apologies.

Fernando, when he heard we needed help putting the event together, he does what he normally does – he moved heaven and earth. He made it look easy, the same way he opened La Marina in Washington Heights, which is a beautiful, extraordinary place. He’s provided a lot of leadership in this city, so Fernando thank you for going the extra mile so we could have this great event tonight. And never forget la banda, Anthony Valdez y su Latin flavor, let’s give him a round of applause and all of them a round of applause.

[Applause]

And the dancers – Fernando, help me, Fernando –

[Speaks Spanish]

[Fernando makes correction]

[Speaks Spanish]

Thank you to the dancers as well. Now speaking of dancing – thank you very much, my fashion ensemble was missing something, I needed this. Now, last weekend we had a wonderful celebration of another important community in this city, the Ecuadorian community. And I told the members of the Ecuadorian community that I wanted to take marimba lessons with Chirlane. But now that we’ve heard from Anthony Valdez and all the members of the band, I think I have to take bachata lessons with Chirlane –  

[Applause] 

Do you agree Chirlane, are you with me? Will you be my dance partner? She says she hopes I can keep up. Man. Okay, I’m moving forward. Now Chirlane and I have been to La Republica Dominicana, and it is an amazing and enchanting and vibrant place. And you can see when you’re there, the history, the culture and you can see what it’s done for this city. And why we are blessed that the Dominican community is the largest immigrant group in this city. And if you want to know about hard work, and if you want to know about entrepreneurship and creativity, let’s talk about Dominicanos y Dominicanas who have done so much for this city.

[Applause]

The artists, the athletes, the business owners – so many people who have contributed. And two of them are leaders in this administration. And I want to thank them – they’re working hard to make New York City a better place and making this community proud. Doctor Feniosky Peña-Mora is here, and Lisette Camilo is here. Feniosky, our Commissioner for the Department of Design and Construction, and Lisette, the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Contracts, these are two of the people who make New York City work every day, and they make the Dominican community proud every day. And Lisette and Feñiosky got these jobs, they got these very key positions, not because they are Dominican, they got them because they are the most talented people who could do the best job for the people of New York City. Now, my commitment to the community is this – I know I have a special responsibility. I am the mayor of the city with the largest Dominican population except for Santo Domingo. And so you may say, you have such an important Dominican community to represent, what are you going to do about it? I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. In one month we’re going to start on a process that in just two years will bring us to full-day pre-K for every child in New York City, for every Dominican American child. We’re making sure that people who need paid sick leave can have paid sick leave so they don’t lose their job, they don’t lose pay even when they’re sick. We’re building enough affordable housing in the next ten years for half a million New Yorkers, and that will help the Dominican community. And we’re creating a municipal ID card, so wherever you’re from, regardless of documentation status, in New York you will be respected and recognized as our fellow New Yorker.

I have a few things to say before I wrap up and everyone can get back to enjoying this beautiful evening, but I want you to join me because we have some special guests who are not famous names. Someday they will be, but they’re not yet. But a group of young people, a group of interns who came together this summer to help the City of New York by interning for the city government, let’s thank the 2014 class of interns right now, these young people are giving back to all of us. And I’ll finish with this simple idea.

[Speaks Spanish]

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